


For it is plain as anyone can see

by SaoryEmanoelle



Category: Kingdom Hearts (Video Games)
Genre: Cuddling & Snuggling, Feel-good, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Teenagers
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-04
Updated: 2020-11-04
Packaged: 2021-03-09 04:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 6,198
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27378343
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SaoryEmanoelle/pseuds/SaoryEmanoelle
Summary: Vanitas is twenty minutes late! He could make up a silly excuse as to why, of course he could, just to try and hide how tense he was. Yes, he was very very tense. But to be fair, who wouldn't be nervous when going to sleep at your crush's house for the first time?
Relationships: VanVen - Relationship, Vanitas/Ventus (Kingdom Hearts), VenVan - Relationship
Comments: 2
Kudos: 28





	For it is plain as anyone can see

**Author's Note:**

> Hello everyone!! This fic is for my sweet friend Slooooth, who requested me some 'sharing a blanket while watching movies' VanVen fic. It's been a long time since I opened requests and right after I went into a sort of writing limbo so I FINALLY finished this fic just now.
> 
> Slooooth, I love you so much, I hope you like iit <333

“Happy Halloween!!”

The internet was full of those. Messages, drawings, videos, even people going outside in full costumes to celebrate the 31st of October. Vanitas would spend a lot of time just scrolling down Twitter or Facebook, just to see these posts and try to kind of feel what it was like to celebrate that date.

_ ‘Why can’t we go trick or treating, mom? It’s Halloween!’  _ His 7-year-old self asked after watching his first real Halloween movie.

“Sweetie, we don’t celebrate Halloween here.” Aqua said with a little smile as he ruffled her little boys’ hair.

_ “But… Everyone else does!!” _

Well, not Brazilians, that’s for sure. Even now, 10 years later, he felt the same disappointment as his younger self whenever that date arrived. Aside from maybe some promotions here and there from Burger King ( _ Come get your burger in a broom and you get another for free!)  _ and maybe some movies on sale, there was nothing else to do on Halloween. To him and everyone else in the town (Read, country) it was just a day like any other.

This year, however, there  _ was  _ something to do, something that was making him quite nervous if he were honest with himself. He had never felt so tense before!

Okay, maybe he had, actually. Like when he failed his Geography exam even though his father was a Geography teacher, or when he accidentally broke the window of the living room while playing with their dog. 

But this kind of tense was different! He felt stupid just standing there like a fool, shifting his weight from one foot to the other, holding his backpack with his stuff inside. He checked the time on his wristwatch again, watched it tick a few more times. Tick. Tick. Tick.

_ Bzzt Bzzt,  _ he jumped. A new message on his phone. He pulled it from inside his pocket, tapped the notification with a sigh.

_ Ventus: Where are you? It’s been 20 minutes! D: - 6:07 pm _

Vanitas laughed nervously and put the phone in his pocket again. Twenty minutes. Had he really been standing there, just a few feet away from Ventus’ house, for twenty minutes after letting him know he was almost there?

He took his hundredth deep breath that minute.  _ You’ve been here before _ , he kept telling himself.  _ You know his parents, his brother and his sister. You know his cat. You’ve known him for two years! _

But this was different, and he knew very well why. Ventus had been his best friend ever since they first met two years ago, that was no secret. The secret was that he liked Ventus for almost as long. And now, for the very first time, he was going to spend the night at his place. How could he  _ not _ be nervous?

_ Bzzt Bzzt _ .

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” He said under his breath, not checking the phone. This was stupid, being this nervous and… Worried. What was there to worry about? He just needed to be himself, like he was at school or wherever he went. And make sure he left a good impression.

Breathe in. Breathe out. And off he went.

His phone  _ bzzt’ed _ one more time the moment he stopped before Ventus’ house. It still took him a few seconds to finally ring the bell,- enough time for him to consider turning back and going home - but before he could the door was opened.

“Vani!!”

Vanitas narrowed his eyes for a moment for it felt like he was staring directly at the light of a thousand suns - Which, of course, meant Ventus was smiling at him. He imagined he’d get used to such a pure smile after two years but time had proved him was wrong.

“What took you so long??” Ventus threw himself on him, barely giving him time to think. Not that Vanitas minded, of course, he loved when Ventus did that. The butterflies in his stomach though? Not a very pleasant feeling.

“I-”

“I was so worried! You wouldn’t answer your phone! Is everything okay?” Ventus asked, pulling him inside as if he lived there.

“I was-” Vanitas stumbled on his feet. “I was walking! It’s busy outside, I didn’t hear the phone, ‘s all!”

“Right.” Ventus smiled and shook his head. “Well, uh… Welcome! You’re finally here!”

“It looks like it!”

Ventus chuckled and Vanitas did too, only to gasp in surprise when something touched his leg. Something fluffy and adorable that always came to say hi whenever he arrived.

“Oh, hi there, Church!”

_ Mrew, _ Church, Ventus’ gray cat, replied. Vanitas had met him when he was still a baby. Right now, he was a one-year-old, fluffy, cute, and really adorable. Vanitas leaned down to pet his head and was tempted to pick him up, which he did after Church reached for his hand with his paws.

“How’re you doing, boy?” Vanitas asked, scratching under Church’s chin and laughing as he meowed in delight. Ventus crossed his arms and watched with a stupid smile on his face.

“He likes you more than he likes any of us.”

“Well, maybe I should adopt him then. Right, Church?”

_ “Meow!” _

“Okay, now I’m offended.” A third voice said and Naminé stepped out of her bedroom, waving at the raven-haired boy. “How come my cat likes you better than he likes me?”

“Hi, Naminé.” Vanitas said with a grin and put Church back on the ground, who chirped happily and continued to wrap itself around his legs.

“Hey, Van. Thank God you arrived; Ventus was driving us insane here with worry. ‘Where’s Vani? Why hasn’t he arrived yet? Oh no-’”

“Nami, don’t.” Was all Ventus said, his face as red as a tomato. His sister didn’t seem to mind, just walked to the newcomer and greeted him with a high-five.

“Finished homework yet?” She teased. Vanitas snorted.

“Oh, come on. You’re not really gonna ask me about homework on a Friday, right?”

“Of course I will. Or you’ll slack off again.” She gave his shoulder a light punch this time, which made Ventus roll his eyes.

Thinking about it, it was funny how they all met. Ventus wasn’t the first person of the family he met, it was Naminé! They had a fight over a lesson just a few days after classes started and, from that day onward, would always pick up on each other. She would often call him out when he did stupid things and woke him up whenever he fell asleep on his desk. 

Needless to say, they became friends pretty fast. Their friends would call them the chaotic duo because, as responsible as the blonde was, she also knew how to cause mischief - Which Vanitas definitely appreciated. A friend who would help but also cause chaos whenever they felt like it (Unlike Ventus who, quoting his sister, was ‘a little angel’).

Vanitas blushed to that thought. The little angel he’d fallen for.

“Well, uh, did you?” Vanitas asked, crossing both of his arms and tilting his head in a challenging manner.

“Of course I did. Both of us, actually.” She ruffled her little brother’s hair and Ventus laughed, albeit embarrassed. “We’re good students, you know. Responsible ones.”

“Wow. Sounds boring as hell. But don’t worry, I’ll have it done in no time.” Vanitas teased and shrugged, full of himself. Naminé put her hands on her hips and was about to say something when yet another voice spoke, this time coming from the living room.

“He said the same thing last week, didn’t he?”

“Hello to you too, Roxas.”

Were he just three years younger, Roxas would probably be a perfect copy of Ventus. If one saw them from a distance they wouldn’t know who was who. Standing close like this, however, it was easier to point out their differences. Roxas was taller than both of his siblings, his eyes were blue instead of green and he had a nice tattoo of a skull on his arm that he liked to show off. He looked (And certainly was) much more intelligent than them but looked much more tired too. Vanitas imagined college or just adult life, in general, did that to a person.

“Vanitas! How are you doing?” Roxas asked, giving Ven a little push with his elbow and making the younger blond grumble. “Ventus was getting desperate without you here.”

“So I’ve heard.” The raven smirked again and looked down at Ven who now had an annoyed look on his face. Vanitas wondered what it was like to have older siblings. Certainly, lots of annoyed glances throughout the day.

“Well, I hope you enjoy your stay!” Roxas added and looked at the wall clock from the living room, putting on his jacket. “And good luck with these two. They’re much more annoying at home than at school, trust me.”

“Right, right.” Naminé and looked up at her older brother. “Why are you still here again? I thought you didn’t want to leave Xion waiting?”

“I won’t.” He replied with a smile. “Just thought I should wait for our guest to arrive. You two, behave while mom is out, alright?”

“Suuuure.” Ventus whispered and took a step closer to his friend. “Don’t mind them, Van. Come on, let’s put your stuff away.”

Vanitas only had time to wave at Roxas and Namine before he was pulled by the younger blond by his arm, eager to be alone with him. Ventus’ house was an ordinary one, with a small kitchen and living room plus three rooms that were shared between Ventus, his siblings, and their parents. 

Vanitas still remembered how many times they had apologized to him for being ‘so simple’, which always made him feel sad. He guessed he was one of the rich kids, sure, but he had seen his parents work many years to get where they were now. Besides, he didn’t really care about wealth; it was all about feeling welcome and comfortable. And there was no home other than his own where he felt this comfortable except for Ventus’.

“Alright, so-” Ventus continued, pointing Vanitas to his bed and leaning against the wall. “Did you bring it?”

“After your twentieth message asking me to? Nah, I forgot.” He reached for his backpack, pulling out a small chess board out of it to Ventus’ complete contentment. The blond muttered an excited  _ yes  _ and picked it from Vanitas’ hand, stared at it for a while. “‘Gonna totally win this time’, right?”

“I will! I’ve been practicing-” Ventus looked around for a bit, took a few steps toward the bed. “with Roxas, he’s been tearing me apart. But I’m also learning a lot, so...”

“You think you can win against me? Tch. Hopeless.”

“Don’t be so mean!” Ventus exclaimed, a smile in the corner of his lips. “I didn’t forget your promise, you know?”

“Oh, so that’s what it is about!”

“ _ That’s  _ what it is about!”

Vanitas laughed and shook his head, pulling back the mess of hair that was now falling on his face. Ventus was arranging the pieces already, eyes focused on the board, which Vanitas didn’t mind: That only gave him more time to look at his friend’s features without being noticed by him.

And also to think about the promise he made. Vanitas had an old PS3 at his place he didn’t use anymore because 1) He didn’t play that much nowadays and 2) Because he’d rather play with someone else. Being an only child didn’t allow for that and his parents weren’t fans of videogames either.

_ “The day you win against me is the day I’m finally giving you that playstation.” _ , he’d said out loud without thinking about it. Ventus would never accept such a thing, but it became a joke between them: Whoever wins buys something for the other. It could be candy, books, figures, anything. Nothing meant to be taken seriously, so they didn’t and only used it as an excuse.

Vanitas couldn’t wait to see Ventus’ face on his birthday when he’d give him a brand new PS3. Until then, he’d keep pretending.

“Vanitas!”

“Mm? Oh, it’s my turn?”

“What were you thinking about?” Ventus chuckled. Vanitas looked down to hide his face.

“Nothing, nothing. Just… Happy to be here.”

That made Ventus stop chuckling and Vanitas raised his head to look at him. They stared at each other for a while and, to Vanitas’ relief, it was Ventus who broke the silence.

“I’m happy you’re here too! I mean, you’ve been here before but… Never for a sleepover! I mean, you never slept here. Never, uh, spent the night-”

“Right, right!” Vanitas ruffled Ventus’ hair. It was so soft. “We can celebrate later. Now I’m waiting for you to win since that’s what you said you were gonna do.”

“Oh, I am!!!”

The first round took around 15 minutes. Vanitas could tell Ventus was indeed better at the game. Maybe Roxas had given him a few hints or just destroyed him to the point he wanted to improve. Still, he was no match for him and it was with an amused snort that Vanitas pushed his King out of the board.

“Checkmate!”

“Noo!! Damnit!”

“I thought you were gonna win this time around?” Vanitas asked, putting the pieces back on the board.

“I was!! I mean… I was supposed to. Maybe if you weren’t so good-” 

“Ohh, you admit it!”

“What? No, I meant-”

“I’m the best chess player, hell yeah!”

“Don’t get cocky now, we’re just getting started!!”

“Venty-Wenty is about to lose again and I’m here for it.”

“Vani!”

Vanitas had just started speaking again when they heard a knock on the door. Ventus jumped off the bed and Vanitas waited, expecting it to be Naminé, but being met with Ventus’ mother instead. She opened the door and looked inside, at him.

“Oh, Vanitas! Hi!”

“Mrs. Larxene!! Uh-” He turned around to sit straight, putting on his shoes as fast as he managed to. “Good evening, ma’am!“

“Hi, mom!” Ventus jumped after her and got a hug in response. The woman looked back at Vanitas and laughed softly at him.

“Vanitas, you don’t have to put on your shoes. It’s okay.” 

“… Thank you, ma’am.”

“Heh! So, how’s your day been, mom?” Ventus asked her as he walked back to the bed and sat on it again.

“Oh, the usual. Nothing out of the ordinary. Now I’ll just make us some dinner and lay down a bit.”

“Do you want help?” Ventus promptly asked and Vanitas followed, but Larxene shook her head.

“Thank you, boys. I’ve got it under control.” She winked at her son, who rolled his eyes affectionately. “I hope you enjoy your stay here, Van.”

“I already do! Thank you.”

After she closed the door, they went back to their game. For over an hour it kept going like that, both throwing (friendly) insults at one another while fighting to win. It was getting harder to read Ventus’ movements but, to the blond’s dismay, he still lost every time.

"You could at least let me win once." Ventus said with a huff.

"Well, now that wouldn't be fair, would it?"

"Brother, dinner's ready!!" Xion exclaimed from outside and Ventus cheered up instantly. 

"Mom said she was making pizza tonight for us! Come on, you'll love it!"

"Homemade pizza? Count me in!"

Vanitas put the chessboard back into his backpack and took his slippers out, ready to truly get comfortable for the night. Ventus laughed at him, apparently for no reason at all, and they made their way to the kitchen.

"There you are." Larxene had just brought juice to the table when they came into the kitchen. Naminé was already there, sitting on her favorite chair. "Are you winning, son?"

Ventus looked at Vanitas. Naminé snorted. 

"All that training gone to waste."

"Vanitas is just too good! Not my fault!"

"I’ll admit it was harder to win this time." The dark-haired teen said, gave Ventus a light push with his elbow. "But yeah, you still need some more practice, Venty."

"So unfair…"

Larxene chuckled and waited until everyone was sitting down to get the pizza from the oven. The smell immediately took over the kitchen, a nice, delicious smell of cheese with pepperoni and whatever other ingredients she had used.

"Ohhh, Rox is going to regret not being here!" Naminé eagerly got her fork and knife while her mom cut the slices.

"We can always leave some for him!" Ventus offered, not in a very convincing tone. Naminé smirked.

"It’s his loss. Too bad for him."

"I'm sure he'll have something at Xion's." Larxene added softly, giving one slice each, receiving small 'thank you's’ from each of them. "So eat as much as you want, darlings. That goes for you too, Vanitas."

"Thank you, ma'am." He smiled at her and then down at his plate. "This looks delicious."

"It is!! Try it out!" Ventus said, already biting into the slice he holding with both hands.

And he wasn’t joking. Vanitas hummed in delight when he took the first bite, an explosion of tastes in his mouth. Larxene smiled to herself, happy, and Vanitas enjoyed his dinner with the family, chatting and relaxing. Why had he even felt so worried in the first place? He felt at home there. Even Church joined them for dinner, meowing for food, and Vanitas gave him little pets while they ate.

“Wow, I’m full.” Naminé announced a few minutes later and leaned on her chair as if about to take a nap.

“So am I! I don’t think I’m eating anything else tonight.” Ventus sighed, to what Vanitas sneered.

“Who are you trying to fool?”

“What are you trying to imply?”

“You know what I’m trying to imply. You eat yours and my lunch every day, you’re never really full!”

“Don’t call me out like that at my own house?!”

Larxene chortled out loud, picking up the dirty plates and cutlery from the table while Naminé simply watched her little brother and her best friend throw friendly insults around. They were soon talking about chess again and how Ventus still hadn’t won when Naminé noticed the way they were looking at each other.

She gave her mom a side glance and they both smiled to themselves.

“Alright, then. I’ll be a good sister and let you not do the dishes tonight, Ven. How about that?”

”Huh?” Ventus frowned. “What’s gotten into you?”

“Nothing. Just trying to be nice to my sweet little brother.” Xion stuck her tongue out at him. Ventus was still frowning.

“You always force me to do the dishes.”

“Well, not today!” She said proudly and stood up, full of energy. “Today I’ll let you go. Because Vanitas is here. So you can thank him for that.”

“You’re welcome.” Vanitas said nonchalantly, expecting Ventus to ask his sister about that again, but to his surprise he got up, cheered, and grabbed him by his arm again.

“Cool! Come on, Vani! Thanks, mom, the pizza was great!!”

Vanitas had no choice but to follow him again, mostly because he was being held and pulled, second because he could swear Ventus’ expression was the most joyous he had ever seen. He turned his head and thanked Larxene for dinner, saw Namimé wink at him, and then turned back around to go with Ven to his room.

“Alright! So, what do you wanna do?” Ventus asked once they were in and closed the door, looking at him with excitement.

“I don’t know! Like, legit, I’ll do whatever you want to do.”

“Well, what do you usually do on Halloween?”

“At my place? Nothing.” He shrugged. “We don’t celebrate it in any way. Do you?”

“Well...“ Ventus turned his back to him, walking to his wardrobe and pulling a wooden box from inside. “Since we were kids, our mom would buy us lots of Halloween movies. That way we could, you know, uh… Distract ourselves.”

He stopped for a bit, clearly remembering something unpleasant. Vanitas pressed his lips together and wondered if he should let him continue.

“So… You’ve got a bunch in there?” He said, hoping Ventus could forget whatever was in his mind.

“Yeah! Lots and lots of them!” He turned to him and put the box on his bed. Indeed, there were easily over 30 DVDs in there. “Naminé and I couldn’t watch some of them back then, not suitable for our age. Rox loved them though.”

“Oh, I bet.” Vanitas chuckled, checking a few of the DVDs. Not all of them were horror movies; most of them were Disney ones, like Tarzan, Brother Bear, and others like them. He could see the horror ones though; Poltergeist, The Night of the Living Dead, Pet Sematary…

“So, it’s a movie night for us?”

“... If you’d like?”

“Of course!” Vanitas nodded, excited. Ventus beamed and scratched his head, momentarily without words, so Vanitas continued. “So… Which one?”

“I told you, you’re choosing this time!”

“I chose to watch movies. Now you-” He pointed at Ventus, touched his arm with his index finger. “Choose the movie.”

“Okay, fine.” Ventus shook his head as if he didn’t want that, but Vanitas could tell he did: He hadn’t looked too thrilled when he was looking at the scariest ones. “I… Uh, do you have a favorite?”

“Veen. I’ll watch whatever you choose!” Vanitas ruffled his blond hair again, affectionately. For some reason, being only with him made him feel a lot more comfortable doing that. Being affectionate, that is. He caught himself blushing, looked back at the DVDs. “So come on! Just choose already!”

“Okay, okay!! I’ll choose...” He fooled around for a while, still scratching his head. “This… One?”

Vanitas looked at the cover. Oh, yes, a classic! The Night Before Christmas was one of his own favorite movies as a kid, but it had been long years since he’d watched it.

“Deal.”

“Really?” Ventus frowned at the cover then at Vanitas. “You like it?”

“Even if I didn’t, I’d give it a try. Must be fun, seeing you get scared watching movies.” The teen teased but this time Ventus didn’t retort, just awkwardly smiled at him.

“Please, don’t scare me during any movie?” He looked away, then back at him. “I admit it, I’m a scaredy-cat.”

Vanitas knew when someone was being serious or just being playful. Ventus’ request was a serious one. “Okay, I won’t. But if the movie scares you... Then I’ll protect you.”

That made Ventus laugh and blush desperately. Vanitas laughed as well and then gave him space to put the DVD on the player. They didn’t speak for a few silent, not awkward, moments while Vanitas put his backpack and chessboard away and Ventus prepared everything else.

“Oh, right. I forgot the mattress!” Ventus apologized, rushing out of the room to get it. “Gimme a sec!”

“I- Okay.”

He too had forgotten the mattress, which would be his bed for the night. It was kinda odd to think of laying down already but then he checked the time and widened his eyes - It was almost 10 o’clock! He put his phone in his backpack this time, still shocked, and hoping he wouldn’t fall asleep during the movie when Ventus came back, holding the mattress with his hands.

“I have arrived!”

“Ventus, oh my God.” Vanitas walked to him. “Why didn’t you ask for help??”

“I can deal with one mattress, thank you, kindly!“ Ventus replied, and just like that threw the mattress on the floor, jumping on it face down. 

“Ven! Pfff, what are you doing-”

“It’s fun!” Ventus said. “Pretend it’s a pool and you’ll get it!”

“This pool looks way to shallow for m-”

He was pulled before he could complain and fell by Ventus’ side, who was quick to jump after his pillow and stare at Vanitas with a manic expression. Vanitas felt it before it came, and it still made him crackle.

“Pillow fight!!”

By the time he got his own pillow, Ventus had already hit him five or six times, which he definitely couldn’t allow! He turned around as fast as he could and hit Ventus on the side of his face, making him fall on the mattress with breathless laughter. Vanitas didn’t wait to attack but Ventus was fast and rolled away, holding the pillow above his head and smacking it against Vanitas’ head.

It was chaos. They couldn’t see much and all they could hear were screams, threats, and laughter. But it was such a good, happy chaos. Vanitas couldn’t even tell where he was after being hit so many times and Ventus was still so full of energy that he swore he could do that all night long.

They only stopped when they heard knocks on the door and both turned their heads to look, heard Naminé on the outside.

“Are you killing each other???”

Ventus burst with laughter at that and Vanitas did too. They heard Xion walk away and just naturally leaned against the other, trying to catch their breath and recover from the intense fight. 

The first one to notice what they were doing was Vanitas. He felt Ventus’ fingers gently rub his back as if cradling him and held his breath for a second. The moment he did, Ventus did too. And yet neither of them moved; maybe by embarrassment, mostly by embarrassment. But above anything, because it felt nice to be that close.

It only made it more awkward to pull apart, however. But they made it eventually.

“So, uh… I’ll start the movie?” Ventus said, his voice small as he got up. “Do you want something to eat while we watch?”

“Eat? We just had dinner!” Vanitas said, but it was a nice question to… Break the ice? He rubbed his face with one hand, put each blanket where it belonged, and got himself cozy on the mattress on the floor. Ventus turned off the lights and got the remote control but then stopped.

“What are you doing on the floor??”

“What do you mean, I’m on the mattress?”

“You know what I mean! I’m not letting you sleep on the floor, you’re the guest!

“Well, this guest will sleep on the floor.”

“Vani!”

Vanitas watched as Ventus walked from where he was to his bed and lay on it.  _ I won _ , Vanitas thought, a bit proud in fact, but then saw Ventus put his pillow next to him, and suddenly they were sitting side by side.

U-Uh...? Ven?“

“If you’re not going to the bed-” Ventus started, sounding way more nervous than he wanted. “then I’m coming to the floor. And you can’t stop me, Mr. Guest!”

“Oh, wow…” Vanitas said, taken aback. Seeing Ventus this close made the butterflies in his stomach go even wilder. “Look who’s getting cocky now.”

“Shh, just enjoy the movie!” Ventus replied and looked at the TV, finally pressing the start button.

The very first scene brought memories to Vanitas’s mind. He remembered the first time he’d watched that movie with his parents. It was his first Halloween with them, the first Halloween he’d had with a family after being adopted. He remembered clutching to his dad, Terra, when he saw the monster under the bed, and his mom, Aqua, coming to his aid when Jack first showed up. It was much easier to watch the rest of the movie, though, and he loved it by the end.

He turned to Ventus, who had a small smile on his lips. He wondered…

“Do you remember when was the first time you watched this?”

“Mm?” Ventus looked at him, already lost in the movie’s intro. “Oh, uh… I can’t really tell. I think I was 9…? Mom bought it for Naminé’s birthday. It was our favorite movie.”

“Maybe she’d like to watch it with us?”

“Oh, not really. She doesn’t watch it anymore. Brings her bad memories.” He stopped for a moment. “I think it brings all of us bad memories.”

Vanitas smiled at him with compassion. They had known each other for a while now but there was a lot about Ventus’ life that he didn’t know. All he knew was that his mother had moved to escape an abusive relationship that had scarred all of them. The look in his friend’s eyes was heartbreaking and he regretted saying anything, but Ventus continued.

“All we could do was pretend, you know? That things were okay. Even when he was at home and screaming at us.” He said, still avoiding Vanitas’ eyes. “But it was always too loud. Always too… Scary. The first time Rox stood up for mom I thought he was going to kill him.”

Vanitas gently reached for Ventus’ hand and tightened his fingers around it.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to tell me these things.”

Ventus shook his head. “To be honest? I… I think I do actually.” He looked at him. “I’ve never talked to anyone about this before and… Well, you’re my best friend. I just… Don’t want to live with this trauma, you know? Remembering him… Wondering if he’ll hurt mom again...”

“Do you know where he is?”

“In prison.” Ventus smiled. It was a very satisfied look, one Vanitas supported. “He’ll be there for a long time. Then we moved here, to stay as far away as we could. And then I met you.”

Ventus held Vanitas’s hand back. He felt his heart skip a bit.

“You didn’t know but… I was in a really bad place. You helped me a lot. Made me feel happy again.”

“Oh, Ven...” Vanitas wished he could hug him right now. He could, actually, he could. But… “I just…”

“You don’t have to say anything.” Ventus interrupted, a really soft smile on his face now. A relieved one. “Everything’s heaven now. Mom’s happy, my brother has a girlfriend who loves him so much. Naminé loves school and she’s doing great at her art classes!”

“... And you?”

“... I’m taking it easy. Enjoying school, enjoying… Movies again.” He pointed to the TV. Jack was there, standing frozen in time at his very first scene. “And my best friend is sleeping at my place! I’ve never had a friend sleep at my place before. It wasn’t… Safe.”

That did it. Vanitas wrapped his arms around his friend and hugged him tightly, letting him relax against him. Ventus was such a sweet person; his family was the kindest he’d ever met. He was glad they didn’t have to deal with any more of that. He was glad they were safe now.

“I’m your best friend...” Vanitas whispered, rubbing Ventus’ back. “You don’t need to pretend around me. It’s okay not to feel good or happy all the time. I’ll still be there for you.”

“... Thanks, Vani.”

They pulled away and both were blushing this time. Vanitas could see Ven was tired though; his eyes were red with tiredness. His own were too. 

“I guess that pillow fight drained us both, huh?” Vanitas joked and naturally, gently touched Ventus’ cheek. Ventus opened his mouth, surprised, but didn’t pull away.

“I… It sure did. But I… Think I can watch the full movie. Can you?”

“Maybe? I might fall asleep midway, though.”

“That’s okay.” Ventus chuckled. “I’ll just let you sleep if you do.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

They moved a bit closer and Ventus leaned on his friend. Relaxing, enjoying it. As if he needed that touch, that care. As if he wanted it.

“Hey, Ven...”

“Mm?”

“... Can I ask you something?”

“Of course.”

Vanitas gulped. “Do… Can I...” He hesitated. Bit his bottom lip, anxious. “I don’t want to see you sad, Ven. I… Want to be there for you. All the time.”

“... All the time?”

“All the time.” He was shaking more now and actually tearing up. Was that nervousness? Fear? “I… I don’t want you to be afraid of anyone anymore. I want....”

“... Do you like me, Van?”

Vanitas stopped moving completely, lost any air he had left. Of course he liked him! He was his friend! But-

“Because… I like you. I have… For some time now.”

Ventus’ words came out so gentle and so natural that Vanitas didn’t truly understand them at first. As if he’d suddenly spoken in an entirely different language and his brain couldn’t quite grasp the meaning behind them. When it finally dawned on him, Ventus was already apologizing.

“Wait… What?”

“I don’t… Want to ruin what we have, you know? You make me feel comfortable and happy, but you don’t have to-”

“Ven, wait!”

“-feel the same as I do. I just wanted you to know because you’re my best friend and I-”

“Ventus!” Vanitas held both of his hands, held them tight. Ventus had a teary but calm gaze as if he were expecting to be turned down for a long time. As if he knew the answer would be no.

Silly, silly Ventus.

“Ventus, I… I like you too, Ven!”

The blond widened his eyes in surprise as if he’d just found out a big secret and couldn’t handle it. It was the most adorable thing.

“Wh… Huh?”

“I like you too!” Vanitas repeated, giving Ventus’ hands another squeeze. "For, uh… 'A long time now'".

Ventus felt like his heart was going to jump out of his chest. He shook his head vehemently, still not believing it, shaking it off as just as a joke but Vanitas squeezed his hands another time and stared into his eyes.

"Ventus, I'm not joking. I… I'd never joke about something this. But you… uh… you have me no choice, you know?"

"What do you mean?" Ventus laughed and Vanitas laughed too. It was contagious, the nervousness, the relief. The happiness.

"How could I… Not fall for a cute boy you?"

"Oh my God, Vani-!" 

Vanitas laughed even harder. Jesus, that was so not like him. It sounded so corny, but at the same time just right. His heart speaking, not his thoughtful, logical self. Only feelings, emotions. It actually felt good.

"Well, then, how could I not fall for such a beautiful boy like you?!" Ventus retorted, full-on competitive mode, and Vanitas blushed more than he thought possible.

They stared at one another for a moment, a moment that felt slowed down. Both were unsure of what to say or to do but there was no hurry. The movie was barely background noise now, forgotten, and senseless. Just a loose tie they had to the world outside of the one they were in now, together, in silence. A world that was just theirs.

"... Can I kiss you?"

Ventus' voice was sweet and still hesitating despite the certainty he had of his feelings. And Vanitas, Vanitas didn't have a voice. Nothing he said would suffice, so he didn't and instead leaned closer to Ventus, who did the same until their lips met.

Whatever thought was racing in their minds before was completely gone now. All they felt was the sweetness of each other’s lips, the sweetness in the way their hands were held together. So innocently, so tenderly, they moved as close as they could and kissed again, not stopping, not letting go of that wonderful feeling. 

Vanitas opened his eyes for a moment, just to look at the beautiful blond before him, and found he was also being looked at. They pulled away, both giggling and blushing, their hands were still held together.

“I...” Ventus tried to speak. “I, uh...”

“Your lips.” Vanitas said, and reached to pull back a strand of hair that was falling on Ventus’ face, tucked it behind his ear. “It’s really sweet.”

“I-” Ventus tried again but gave up mid-speech and put his arms around Vanitas, hugging him as tight as he managed to then completely relaxing in his arms. 

“Think… We could sleep together?” Ventus asked shyly and looked at his bed. “It’s… Warmer? If that’s okay-”

“It’s warmer, yeah.”

They giggled again and stood up, putting the pillows and the blanket on Ventus’ bed and jumping on it together. Vanitas tried to hold himself but he couldn’t and held Ventus’ face in his hands just to kiss him again. Ventus didn’t mind.

What was supposed to be a movie night became a night with a lot of cuddles, laughter, and silly, stupid faces. There were little kisses here and there but most of the time they simply gazed into each other’s eyes, happy, carefree. Vanitas lay his head on Ventus’ chest for a while, then Ventus snuggled against him, then they played with each other’s hair and chatted about how long they'd wanted to talk about their feelings.

It didn’t take too long before they fell asleep. The night was cold, which only made them happier to be close, and it felt comfortable to be like this. The movie was left alone, playing for no one to watch it, but it had done its part in putting them together.

  
  


_ My dearest friend, if you don't mind _

_ I'd like to join you by your side _

_ Where we can gaze into the stars _

_ And sit together, now and forever _

_ For it is plain as anyone can see _

_ We're simply meant to be _

  
  


And it was perfect.


End file.
